Hop spider SS mesh size

Hi all.

I'm planning on building a hop spider for my kettle. Looking around I found that most of them are done with #50 mesh (300 microns). Btw, I use only pellet hops.

Now, because of geographical issues, I only have access to #40 (400 micron) or #60 (250 micron). I'm not sure what to choose, I'm afraid that one would let some material pass through and the other could clog, but I don't know for sure. Any thoughts?

Any advice will be appreciated. Thank you!

 

I hear 400 is best. Though you may get slight particles from pellets, it won't be anything significant. But 400 gives the best of both worlds. It filters and allows for best hope utilization.

 

I use 300 for whole-hops.
I would go with the 250 for pellet.

 

Reversed?

Cheers!

 

Where have you guys purchased your SS mesh?

 

250 micron is smaller that 300.

 

I think that most people in the US get it from McMaster Carr. As they don't ship internationally I'll buy it from ebay.

 

Doh! :smack: For some reason I was thinking wire density, not pore size...

Cheers!

 

Grainger. They have 74 x 74 mesh (about 250 micron) 24" x 24" SS wire cloth for $19.96: http://www.grainger.com/content/cat_405_rawmaterial?page=78

BTW, 1 micron (1/1000 meter) is about .000039"

 

Thank you all. I think I'll go with the 250 micron mesh and see how it works. I'll post my results.

 

Before you order, consider one thing:

The hop spider needs to contain the hop particles, but it also needs to allow the wort to flow through or you will have utilization problems. I wouldn't go finer than 300. My basket is currently 300 micron, and I'm considering a 400 micron basket to allow more flow through. The minute hop particles that pass through are not big enough to cause any sort of issue, even with a plate chiller.

 

I wast just about to order.
Now, isn't 400 too much for pellet hops? I'm afraid to clog the plate chiller. Maybe a hop stopper would be better, or both, spider and stopper. What do you think?

 

I think both would be overkill.

To give you an idea on what the mesh sizes are, look at this site. The examples are well done:

Micron Rating Examples

I have a plate chiller and a 300 micron basket. It works extremely well. I'm just concerened with the flow-through of the wort during the boil. There's movement but I'd be happier with more. I (knock on wood) have never had an issue with *anything* clogging my plate chiller.

250 micron is .010 (ten thousandths) of an inch. 300 micron is .012 (twelve thousandths) of an inch. 400 micron is .016 (sixteen thousandths) of an inch. A typical business card is roughly .015"-.016". A sheet of standard bond paper is somewhere around .005".

We're really talking about splitting hairs. The tighter the filtration, the slower the flow and the more likely you'll have issues with hop utilization.